Beautiful female guards, proficient in martial arts

Not only beautiful in appearance, the female guards are also fluent in foreign languages, good at martial arts, proficient in professional skills, ready to act as a “shield” to ensure absolute safety for the guarded subjects. The image of the female guards has left a very good impression in the hearts of the people and international guests, contributing to the success of APEC 2017.

1. One of the female security officers most "photographed" by the press is Senior Lieutenant Dang Thi Hong Nhung, an officer of the International Guests Protection Department at the conference rally (Security Command). With a height of 1m74, a unique face, and an elegant black vest, it is not difficult to recognize this beautiful female officer who always stands out in the frames that photojournalists have "captured".

“In real life, you are cheerful, happy, and easy-going, so why are you so cold like an American agent in photos?”. Hearing my “questioning”, Lieutenant Nhung smiled shyly: “Many people who read online newspapers asked me that. I also don’t know when my photo was taken.”

The female guard explained: “Perhaps because I was so focused on my work, my face was always tense and serious. The job of a guard requires concentration and observation to ensure the best possible safety. Observation skills are an important factor in the profession of a guard. Observing threats that appear from the surroundings and affect the object that I am tasked to protect. So sometimes I was so focused that I didn't pay attention to what my face looked like at that moment. Later, when I looked back at the photos that people took, I saw that cold face didn't look like me...”.

Senior Lieutenant Dang Thi Hong Nhung confided that she is proud to be a "family heiress" with her father, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dang Quoc Trung, who was a bodyguard for General Secretary Le Duan and many other high-ranking leaders. Her experienced father has contributed significantly to Nhung's work. The lessons, stories, and skills in close protection work shared by her father have helped Nhung mature very quickly in her work.

Although she has only worked at the unit for 5 years, with her good professional skills and proficiency in English and Chinese, First Lieutenant Nhung is always trusted by the unit's leaders to protect foreign VIPs.

Senior Lieutenant Dang Thi Hong Nhung said that during the APEC 2017 Summit Week, she and Lieutenant Le Thu Phuong were assigned to protect the wife of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. On the afternoon of November 10, the South Korean delegation and the wife of the South Korean President, immediately after landing at Da Nang airport, went straight to Tam Thanh mural village (Tam Ky, Quang Nam).

This was a private activity of the wife of the Korean President, so the local authorities were not notified in advance. Therefore, the appearance of the delegation surprised the villagers of the mural. They came out in large numbers to watch. The two female security officers were forced to work independently without the coordination and support of local authorities.

“At that time, people crowded both sides of the road, partly out of curiosity, partly because they wanted to show their love for the Korean President's wife when she stopped to talk to people, personally painted pictures and gave gifts to students. Because they had experience protecting wives during activities in public places, the two sisters divided themselves to clear the way for the group, creating a safe distance for the wife but ensuring that people could show their friendliness and hospitality,” Senior Lieutenant Dang Thi Hong Nhung recounted.

It was a rather tiring working session because for more than an hour, the delegation of the Korean President's wife went around the mural village. When the program ended and the delegation got back on the bus safely, the two sisters breathed a sigh of relief. The security of the Korean delegation was also very satisfied with the flexible protection measures of the Vietnamese female guards.

2. In addition to access protection, a rather difficult job for female security officers is to protect the point where important activities take place within the framework of APEC Summit Week. The peak is 3 days, from November 9 to 11, when a series of important events take place continuously from morning to night.

Major Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, an officer of Regiment 375 - Guard Command, said that for point protection activities, the guard force must be present 2-3 hours before the event takes place, so on peak days, from 5-6 am, female guard officers set off on duty.

“The sisters had to wake up very early, put on light makeup, dress neatly, and get in the car. Some days it was so early that the hotel hadn’t had time to prepare food, so each person took a piece of bread and a bottle of water and got in the car, eating breakfast on the bus,” Major Tam recalled.

Meetings and conferences sometimes only last 2-3 hours. But for the security force, they have to be on duty all the time before and after the event, so the time spent standing can be 5-6 hours straight.

“The women who work only focus on their work. Although they are very tired, they consider themselves to represent the police force and the Vietnamese people, so they are always conscious of maintaining a fresh appearance and a serious demeanor. There were days when I stood like that from 6am until 11:30pm before returning to the hotel,” Lieutenant Do Kim Thuy said.

Participating for the first time in a major international event like APEC, but thanks to thorough training, Lieutenant Do Kim Thuy (officer of the Party and Mass Affairs Department) demonstrated great professionalism in handling situations.

On the evening of November 11, Lieutenant Do Kim Thuy was assigned to ensure security during the activities of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After walking around Hoi An ancient town, opening the Vietnam - Japan cultural space and holding talks, the two prime ministers had dinner at a restaurant in Hoi An. Lieutenant Do Kim Thuy was assigned to check security before the two prime ministers arrived at the restaurant.

When going up to the second floor of the restaurant, perhaps it was an honor to welcome the two prime ministers, so the restaurant owner arranged a lot of staff, lined up in two long rows to show respect and hospitality. Meanwhile, Japan is one of the delegations with very high requirements for security work. Although very confident in the security plan of the Vietnamese side, the Japanese side still sent two security staff to the restaurant to check.

After observing for a while, Lieutenant Do Kim Thuy decided to ask the restaurant owner to only let the staff serving during the meal stay, and reminded them to move around gently. Witnessing the quick and reasonable management of the Vietnamese female guard officer, the two Japanese security officers agreed and felt secure to go down to their duties on the lower floor.

3. Ensuring security during the visit of the spouses of APEC economic leaders to Hoi An ancient town, chaired by the President's wife, is one of the most difficult working sessions for female security officers. In addition to curious people, the large number of domestic and international press participating in reporting and taking photos of the event also makes the task of ensuring security and safety during the tour more stressful.

How to maintain a safe distance for VIPs, while creating conditions for the press to work and for people to show friendliness and hospitality to international guests. That is a difficult problem for the security forces in general and female security officers in particular.

“Working with the press is always quite stressful because every reporter wants to find every way to get as close to the activities as possible to get beautiful photos. Sometimes we have to use “tough” measures with journalists,” shared Captain Nguyen Anh Tuan, an officer of Regiment 375 (Guard Command). Although she has a slim figure, when on duty, this female officer is very tough and strong like a “steel rose”.

When working in the clearing position, she and her female colleagues had to perform decisive and decisive movements no less than foreign agents. It may seem simple to outsiders, but to handle the above situation, the female security officers had undergone very thorough and detailed training with many options set out.

The work is hard, the responsibility and pressure are heavy, but the female security officers said they are very proud and honored to participate in ensuring security at an important international event like APEC.

“Security work is hard for any force. But the guards are the ones who get to the inner circle, having the opportunity to have the closest contact with high-ranking leaders and heads of the world's largest economies. Although they cannot talk, at a very close distance, the images of the heads of state, from their eyes to their smiles, are extremely friendly and approachable. That friendliness proves that the heads of state are completely assured and trust Vietnam's security work,” Major Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam expressed her pride.

According to CAND